


Values

by silentxsoul



Category: Pitch (TV 2016)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-15
Updated: 2016-10-15
Packaged: 2018-08-22 11:36:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8284429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silentxsoul/pseuds/silentxsoul
Summary: Ginny goes toe-to-toe with Oscar about the looming trade deadline





	

“You’re too valuable.”

Ginny Baker bit back a harsh laugh as she crossed her arms over her chest and stopped pacing in front of her general manager long enough to fix him with a glare so intense that Oscar forced himself to glance away. He cleared his throat and glanced back at his young, rookie pitcher, taking in the obvious agitated demeanor. It wasn’t unusual to have a disgruntled player in his office this close to the trade deadline, but to have a player _demanding_ a trade. Well that was something he’d yet to experience in his tenure. 

“So is Lawson, you know the captain you chose?” She bit back, continuing her pacing. “I don’t generally believe the rumors, but when you’ve got Rosenthal out there talking about the meetings _you_ had with the GM’s for Washington, for San Francisco, and that asshole up in LA, you start to believe the utter bullshit as it runs its course through the locker rooms.” 

Oscar bit back a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. It was an odd predicament that he’d found himself in. He was about two-million over his salary cap, had two all-star caliber catchers fighting for a permanent position (one of which conveniently was making two-million more than the other), and had a team that was in dire need of a reliable middle-reliever or even a corner-fielder who had a decent bat. There was a good chance the team was going to make a playoff push—but that push wasn’t likely to go far with the gaps in offense and pitching. 

So logically, as a General Manger, he began to shop around with his most valuable assets to see what he could get in return. Trading Lawson’s contract could net him the two people he needed to fill those gaps and still come in under the salary cap. This had sparked a lot of controversy throughout the club—an inevitable consequence of baseball politics—and many of the fans had been quite outspoken about the possibility of the loveable captain getting shipped off. 

Oscar really didn’t want to have to trade Lawson—he’d grown fond of the man. Lawson was the heart and soul of this team. But there comes a point in the lifecycle of a GM where you begin to contemplate a total revamp of the roster and team dynamic. 

Ginny understood this perfectly. She’d been around the game long enough to know the ins and outs of trades, call-ups, demotions, and everything in between. She’d been screwed over more times than she cared to count and had seen many players get fucked in contracts and playing time only to be cast off at the will of the organization. Ginny had learned a long time ago to keep her head down and let the cards fall. 

But this time… Well, this time was different. The Padre’s had finally clicked as a team and were firing on all cylinders, largely in part due to Lawson’s unique ability to rally his team and keep them working together. Removing him now would be a kiss of death to the dynamic that they’d worked so hard to achieve. 

Ginny knew this charisma and hot bat were likely to push Lawson to the forefront of trade talks, but she’d refused to entertain the idea that he could possibly be traded. It simply couldn’t happen. 

Until the Sports Center break. Until Ken Rosenthal interrupted the latest game against Seattle to chime in with his knowledge. Then it all became real, and it pissed her off. 

It was no secret that Mike only had two good seasons left in him (and two years left in his contract, with a mutual option for a third, not that she paraded around her knowledge of that). It made sense to bring in a young catcher to study under the veteran’s tutelage. But then Oscar went and signed the man from Cuba, the all-star young catcher with a fire in his eyes.  The new guy didn’t have the pull or respect of the man who’d spent 16 years in a Padre’s uniform (not for lack of trying—he was a pretty decent guy, but he was no Lawson). 

Ginny knew they were likely at a salary cap issue—signing Duarte hadn’t been cheap, so logically as a GM you had to cut the salary somewhere. But she also knew she had one hell of a leverage, and she’d stomped all the way up to Oscar’s office to let him have it.

“My value is exactly what you need, Oscar. My contract is pennies and dimes compared to what other people are getting. I’m currently 3-2 with a 3.2 ERA and bring one hell of a fan base to wherever I go. That alone can get you a handful of prospects, veterans, or whatever it is you are looking for.” Ginny spoke calmly, pausing her pacing long enough to get her message across. 

Oscar sighed and glanced up at the young pitcher. “How is it you’ve been here for a handful of months and are already willing to give up the greatest opportunity you’ve been given?” 

Ginny didn’t bother holding back the harsh laugh this time. “Because I was brought up as a gimmick who lucked out and snagged a gig. Things are good here, but if you get rid of Lawson they won’t be. Say goodbye to the playoffs, say goodbye to the comradery and good clubhouse environment.” 

Oscar shook his head, refusing to entertain her dramatic claims. “I stand by what I said—you are too valuable to even consider this, Ginny. Forgive me for being crass, but the contract we have you on is one hell of a deal from a club perspective considering the talent we are getting for it. You stick around a year and suddenly that contract gets renegotiated and you find yourself among the best in the sport in terms of salary. Pretty nice opportunity if you ask me. Right now though, we can’t afford to give up the team friendly deal.” Oscar stood from his seated position behind his desk and headed to his mini fridge to grab a water. He turned and held one out to Ginny.   

“You know, trading Lawson would be like Boston trading Papi two years ago. Not only would it be insane, but bad for business. You seem to be concerned with that, considering how you value my contract,” Ginny said with narrowed eyes and a shake of her head, waving off the offer for the water. 

“You’re a better brand than a 36-year-old catcher.” Oscar said simply while opening his water. 

“Because I’m a _woman_.” She spat, arms crossing once more. 

Oscar gave her a smirk, “To an extent yes. But you’ve also got this charisma about you. Like it or not Ginny, you are hard to hate and the fans want more of you. Just look at the petition to get you into the All-Star Game. You are a pioneer and—yes because of your gender—are changing baseball and making it relevant again. The Padre’s have been suffering for years with fan interaction and suddenly we’ve got record crowds at Thursday afternoon games. Forgive me if I don’t want to throw that away so you can be a martyr for an old catcher.” 

Ginny leveled Oscar with a glare and took a step closer to where he stood beside the mini fridge. “Lawson goes and I’m as good as gone. I’ll have my camp start leaking statements of how unhappy I am and before you know it you’ll be letting me out of my contract by _mutual_ decision. I’ll get picked up by a team of my choice—after all I’m _marketable_ , right?” 

Without waiting for a response Ginny turned and stormed from the office, mind racing. The reality of losing Lawson (her only real rock in this whirlwind of a life she’s got) was terrifying. But she was used to the terror—she thrived off it. She could make due pitching without him (begrudgingly, but it was possible), but she couldn’t stomach the idea of the Padre’s fucking him over just because of his age and salary. They gave him the damn contract, after all.

Lawson was a creature of habit, something she’d picked up on rather quickly after being called up. He had the same breakfast, same workout routine, same warmup, same batting routine, same everything. He’d been a Padre for life and to throw him to the wolves now was infuriating to her. He’d done a lot for the organization, through the good and the bad. They owed a lot of the successes the team had achieved to him, and now they were willing to just throw that aside just to get a few new guys in the locker room. 

At least a trade for her would be a simple readjustment to a new team. A new environment, a new dynamic. The thought of going through the acclimation process again was daunting, but not entirely new to her. Ginny was used to being the cast out, the one who got sideways glances and apprehensive looks. She’d been shuffled around from team to team since graduating high school, what was one more move? 

At some point in her aimless tirade through the underbelly of Petco Park, she’d heard the dull ringing of her phone. Fishing it from her pocket she wrinkled her nose at the caller id: _Amelia._ She was no doubt calling about the incident up in Oscars office (he was probably dialing her number before Ginny even left the room), and Ginny wasn’t in the mood to deal with it. Hitting the red button Ginny moved to return the phone back into her pocket. 

“BAKER!” A deep voice shouted angrily causing her to jump, nearly dropping her phone. Ginny whipped around to find a _very_ angry Lawson making his way down the hall. 

“Jesus Christ! Are you trying to kill me?” she demanded, tucking her phone safely into her pocket and grabbing her chest. She could feel her heart racing beneath her palm (and a part of her wondered if the racing was from the fright or from the person before her, but she quickly shoved that thought back down to wherever it came from). 

Lawson narrowed his eyes and took a step closer to his rookie pitcher, one finger extended towards her face. “YOU. Are. NOT. A. Martyr. You _will_ not quit this team, and you _will_ not throw yourself into the typhoon that is the trade game. I’m a big boy and can handle whatever is thrown at me.” 

Ginny scoffed, “And I’m a big girl who can make her own decisions. I’ve been a gimmick my whole life, Lawson. I’ve been the fucking pawn in every clubhouse I’ve been in and I’ll be damned if I let one more GM fuck over another one of my teammates like I’ve been fucked over time and time again.” 

“Did it occur to you that I may want to be traded? That I might want to get out and experience something new in this world?”

This was met with a harsh laugh. 

Ginny caught the quick pass of surprise that lit up his eyes, but continued before she could let herself focus too much on it. “Lawson you won’t even change your barber—even when he up and moved to Phoenix. You literally fly to Phoenix once a month to get your hair trimmed. I’m supposed to believe you are ok with the possibility of being traded to LA or Washington?” 

Lawson opened his mouth to respond but snapped it shut, cocking his head to the side. It was true—Marcus had moved to Phoenix two years ago after getting married (and after his husband decided he wanted to be closer to his family). Since then Lawson would fly down on his off day’s to get a trim and catch up.

“To be fair Marcus knows just how I like my beard sculpted. I can’t go around looking like Hunter Pence, now can I? ‘Cause that’s what kind of barbers are left in California. Ones that make their clients look like Hunter Pence.”  He said finally, idly scratching at his beard.

Ginny shook her head, taking the small victory of her point sinking in. “You get traded over to San Fran you might as well just adopt the look. The marketing would be amazing—Lawson and Pence: long lost siblings, reunited again!”

Despite the obvious sarcasm Lawson laughed. He wasn’t sure what it was about this rookie, but he seldom could stay mad at her (and the second he’d gotten a call from Oscar to warn him that his rookie was throwing herself into the fire on his behalf, he was ten shades beyond pissed). She had a way of making him laugh that not a lot of people had. And it was refreshing.

And he would certainly miss it once he was traded. If he was traded. There was certainly a lot to think about, but for now he was content with living in the moment and making the most of his time as a Padre, because his time was limited whether it be by trade or by retirement.

“I will never allow my beautiful face to bear that…that kind of scrappy, disgusting mask of facial hair. I simply won’t.”

Ginny’s retort was cut off by the buzz of her phone. She fished it out and Lawson watched as the frown etched itself deep into her features. Though he wouldn’t admit it, for a brief moment he was scared that her offer to Oscar was accepted and _she_ was actually being traded.

Instead Ginny cursed loudly and shoved the phone back into her pocket. “I’ve got to go face the gallows with Amelia. If I don’t show for practice, know I died doing something I believed in.”

She pushed passed the older catcher, grumbling as she went. Lawson felt a familiar chuckle rumble from his lips as the bounce of her hair matched each stomp of her feet. “Hey Rookie…thanks.” He called after her.

Ginny turned and flashed him a smile before setting off again.

**\---.---.---**

 

The trade deadline came and passed without much excitement. Three of the backup infielders had been traded off for prospects from the Marlin’s organization, effectively eliminating any salary cap issues and keeping the team mostly content.

Each time Oscar and Ginny would cross paths, she would give him a knowing smirk to which he would simply shake his head (unwilling to give even an inkling as to why none of the trade rumors about Lawson paid off). 

Ginny also made a deal with Amelia that the next time she considered throwing her career away that she would at least consult her manager first. This was more for Ginny’s benefit than for Amelia because after the last round of shouting and the subsequent firing (and then rehiring), Ginny wasn’t keen on repeating it any time soon.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> So I've seen a few prompts across Tumblr and finally got inspired long enough to pen a short one-shot. Its been so long since I've written anything (on any platform, tbh) so it was actually kind of nice.


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